Meditation on the Sukkah

By Miriam Lippel Blum

For seven days we dwell

Under the sun and stars in this fragile hut

Sheltered only by branches once rooted in the ground.

We leave the solid fortresses of our houses

Where we are lulled into false security, closed in,

Where we need not look at the vastness of the world and G-d.

Here, open under the sky, faith is the only shelter.

Remember the Israelites wandering in the desert.

We, too, wander in deserts,

Lonely, through drifting sands of passing time,

Searching the heavens for living waters and shady resting places,

A place within ourselves to call home.

The Tanya says: “The second soul… it is truly a portion of Hashem above.” Some people display their Divine soul more than others. Miriam Lippel Blum did so to an exceptional degree. She was a Jewish educator who was responsible for the careers of thousands of Jewish teachers around the world. She was also a poet and writer whose works enlightened all who read them. Her attention and love brought change to Tucson and, in fact, to people in many, many countries. Miriam left this world on July 6, 2021 --her husband Bennett Blum, MD